The Bookbag Celebrates Springtime's Arrival!
Good riddance, wintertime. The books that got me through. Favorite best-selling authors and their Substack homes. Kindle deals. A March literary time capsule. And Nancy Drew visits my mantel.
* you’ll catch me repeatedly tripping over words and phrases in this week’s voiceover. thank you for not laughing right out loud.
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‘Reading unlocks doors, expands borders and horizons, develops intelligence and thought and values that will guide you in these days. You deserve stories and solidarity, subversive truth and solace.
These days, we can easily drown in the constant deluge of bad news, lose the plot, become overwhelmed by despair, but reading is one way we are reminded: stay human. Keep caring. Show up. Find your family, remember what is worth saving. Use your imagination, your empathy, your capacity for complex thought.’
- Sarah Bessey
Hey Guys!
Welcome back to this edition of THE BOOKBAG. Right up top, thanks to Sarah Bessey for emphasizing the many facets of the reading life and the huge benefits we gather along the way. Her observations are golden … and very apropos right about now, aren’t they.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never been more excited to push our clocks forward than this year. To be enjoying beautiful blue skies at six o’clock at night is sheer glory at the tail end of a long, dark winter. I am so grateful, even as youngest granddaughter reminded me on the phone how dreadful it is heading off to school in the dead of night.
I hear ya’. Sorry, girl. But Grandma is soaking it all in like a sponge.
Meanwhile, before I totally embrace the bloom of springtime (especially since she hasn’t officially arrived), let’s take one final look back at our most recent fireside, hot cocoa-swilling season. I’m sharing a million and one links here. Favorite reads since December 21st (be sure to click on the audiobook preview links). Best-selling authors who have created personal online Substack homes. Ridiculously wonderful ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kindle deals. I’m so excited that all, yes all, of my literary time capsule choices are on sale even as we speak.
And Nancy Drew ushers in springtime’s golden hues into our living room. Yes she does.
I love my reading life. And I know you love yours, too.
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FAVORITE READS THIS WINTER
The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, & Get Stuff Done
Kendra Adachi
Kendra's like a smart, sassy big sister and her philosophy is spot on - 'be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't.' If your life is out of control, she's the perfect no-nonsense, very fun companion to get you where you want to go.
Living in your season. Choosing once. Starting small. Batching tasks. Being kind. The values she shares are one and the same as my own.
The girl is such a breath of fresh air. Smart and funny, perceptive and filled with kind-of-profound common sense. Light reading yet thought-provoking. A re-read that was like a visit with an old friend.
Audiobook preview
Christmas with the Queen: A Novel
Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
Don’t wait til next Christmas to read historical fiction queen Hazel Gaynor’s latest. The storyline is sweet and compelling - especially if you’re a bit captivated by the monarchy and the comings and goings of those in the back halls.
‘Christmas with the Queen is, in a word, delicious. As with Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb’s previous collaborations, it balances deftly observed historical details, an engaging plot, and delightful characters (HM the late Queen among them) who become familiar and dear to the reader after only a few pages. This is a story to savor over a cup of tea as the days grow short and the year draws to a close, and I adored every bit of it." — Jennifer Robson, USA Today and International bestselling author of THE GOWN
Audiobook preview
Conclave: A Novel
Robert Harris
We saw the movie and I knew before I left the theater I had to read the book. A fascinating page-turner, an inside fictional look at the chaotic twists and turns, the behind the scenes rumors and conspiracies and politicing in the back rooms of the Sistene Chapel.
‘The pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will gather to cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they are not immune to the human temptations of power and glory. And they are not above the tribalism and factionalism that consumes humanity.’
Audiobook preview
When the Church Harms God’s People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, & Care for the Wounded
Diane Langberg
’Internationally recognized psychologist and trauma scholar Diane Langberg has come face to face with the crushing trauma of sexual abuse, trafficking, domestic abuse, and rape - and its cover-up. Tragically she has encountered it all within Christian communities and the church … Langberg diagnoses how Christian communities too often mimic worldly institutions and end up harming people; she then issues a call to the church to love and serve those in their care.’
Must reading for all pastors, ministry leaders, church board members, and professional people-helpers.
Audiobook preview
The Lake House: A Novel
Kate Morton
An absorbing, beautifully penned re-read of a 2016 favorite.
'Living on her family's idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories.
One midsummer's eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. He is never found, and the family is torn apart, the house abandoned. Decades later ...'
Audiobook preview
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FAVORITE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS ON SUBSTACK
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ KINDLE DEALS BY WRITERS I LOVE
Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God & My Soul
Jennie Allen $1.99
Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel & Knowing What To Do About It
Jennie Allen $4.99
The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World
Hannah Brencher $2.99
Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, & Being Ridiculously in Charge
Henry Cloud $2.99
The Power of the Other: The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom & beyond & what to do about it
Henry Cloud $1.99
Karen Kingsbury 4 True Crime Novels
Karen Kingsbury $4.99
Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space & Achieve Your Ideal Life (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up)
Marie Kondo $1.99
Joy: Poet, Seeker, & the Woman Who Captivated C. S. Lewis
Abigail Santamaria $4.99
The Martha Manual: How to Do (Almost) Everything
Martha Stewart $3.99
The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands
Lysa TerKeurst $2.99
The Classic Works of A. W. Tozer
A. W. Tozer $1.79
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
William Young $2.99
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LITERARY TIME CAPSULE (what I enjoyed in March over the years + yes, they’re ALL on sale)
1 year ago
The Bookbinder: A Novel
Pip Williams
5 years ago
The Dutch House: A Novel
Anne Patchett (if you’re on Cape Cod, there’s 1 copy inside my Little Log Cabin Road Library)
10 years ago
The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
M. L. Stedman
15 years ago
The Remains of the Day (Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature)
Kazuo Ishiguro
20 years ago
The Summons: A Novel
John Grisham
25 years ago
The Street Lawyer: A Novel
John Grisham
I’m leaning forward to hear all about the titles that have kept you company these past few months. Best-selling authors you follow on Substack. And a few titles from your own literary time capsule.
Click on this blue button to get a peek at the 3 titles I’m reading right now!
Linda
THE BOOKBAG is our mid-month chat where we compare notes about all things bookish.
🛒 I appreciate all of you who are supporting my work when you click on any Amazon link here & then shop 'til you drop. That's it! A few cents go into my pocket at no extra cost to you ever. You’re happy, I’m happy, it’s a win-win.
Ps: Thanks so much for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friends this month 🌼🤗
I'm adding Christmas With The Queen and The Lake House to my list. Your such a treasure to me.